If you are a part of the 99% then you probably have not developed a wealthy mindset, because the majority of people believe that you must work a job. Every wealthy person knows that you will never become wealthy from working a J.O.B. (JUST OVER BROKE). Almost every wealthy person is an entrepreneur and has created a product or service that people want.

Wealth is power! If you believe like most people, you simply don’t believe that you have power. You believe that the powers that be are in control, and the rest of us are just victims of the system. This is a poverty mindset, and it is often en-trained and passed on from one generation to the next.

Keep in mind that money does not equal wealth. There are plenty of people who have plenty of money, but who still carry around the poverty mentality of “not enough”. They may hold onto their money afraid to spend, so they hoard it. Then there are those who spend it so irresponsibly that they lose it all and find themselves at ground zero again.

Human beings follow through on who they believe they are. If you believe that you are unworthy of wealth, and you win the lottery for $100 million dollars; you will find a way to lose it either by unconsciously creating situations of hardship, emergency or disaster in your life, or you will frivolously waste it and watch it slip through your fingers like water. We hear stories all the time about poor people who win the lottery, and in two years they are right back where they started.

If we understand that money is nothing more than energy, we will know that we attract or repel it. There are some people who are really good at attracting money, and there are those who are really good at repelling it.

There are a few ways to improve your relationship with money, and begin to develop a wealth mindset:

Step 1. Create An Abundance Mindset

Understand that we live in an abundant Universe, and that our natural state of being is abundance. Abundance in health, happiness and wealth. The Universe is lacking nothing, and there is only one stream. There isn’t a stream of abundance and a stream of lack. We are either going with the stream or against it, or when we go against it we feel lack. When we move in congruency with the stream we feel abundance. You’ve heard the term “go with the flow”, all wealthy people have mastered this. When they get an idea or hunch, they go with it and it always leads to an abundant outcome.

Step 2. Think Positively About Money

Understand that energy moves by nature, and if money is energy then it must move in and out. Trying to hold onto money with a belief that it’s not enough or that it’s hard to come by only keeps it from flowing to you. Therefore, you can start by being joyful when you pay your bills, or pay for a service. Don’t begrudgingly pay for things, because you are signaling the Universe that you don’t believe more is coming. Wealthy people never wonder if they will get more money, because they understand that they can attract more, and so they do.

Step 3. Visualize Wealth

Visualize money coming into your experience from multiple sources. See money flowing to you like water flowing downhill, and feel what it feels like to have an endless supply of money and resources in your possession. Wealthy people see the unseen before it shows up. People who have money look forward into the future and experience the feeling of what it is like to have the lifestyle that they desire, and they manifest it.

A lot of people dismiss this intangible process because they don’t believe it works. Just as they don’t believe they can be wealthy, their beliefs always prove them right.

I have lost count on how many times I’ve read and heard of celebrity marriages failing. Not that I care (and personally I don’t), it seems strange that we often see movie and TV stars as flawless people, living the fairy tale life of riches and glamour. I suppose we all have to stop sticking our heads in the clouds and face reality.

There are many ways to lose your sense of self-esteem despite of how trivial it could get. But whatever happens, we should all try not to lose our own sense of self.

So what does it take to be a cut above the rest? Here are some of the things you can think and improve on that should be enough for a week.

1. Know your purpose
Are you wandering through life with little direction – hoping that you’ll find happiness, health and prosperity? Identify your life purpose or mission statement and you will have your own unique compass that will lead you to your truth north every time.

This may seem tricky at first when you see yourself to be in a tight or even dead end. But there’s always that little loophole to turn things around and you can make a big difference to yourself.

2. Know your values
What do you value most? Make a list of your top 5 values. Some examples are security, freedom, family, spiritual development, learning. As you set your goals – check your goals against your values. If the goal doesn’t align with any of your top five values – you may want to reconsider it or revise it.

The number shouldn’t discourage you, instead it should motivate you to do more than you can ever dreamed of.

3. Know your needs
Unmet needs can keep you from living authentically. Take care of yourself. Do you have a need to be acknowledged, to be right, to be in control, to be loved? There are so many people who lived their lives without realizing their dreams and most of them end up being stressed or even depressed for that matter. List your top four needs and get them met before it’s too late!

4. Know your passions
You know who you are and what you truly enjoy in life. Obstacles like doubt and lack of enthusiasm will only hinder you, but will not derail your chance to become the person you ought to be. Express yourself and honor the people who have inspired you to become the very person you wanted to be.

5. Live from the inside out
Increase your awareness of your inner wisdom by regularly reflecting in silence. Commune with nature. Breathe deeply to quiet your distracted mind. For most of us city slickers it’s hard to even find the peace and quiet we want even in our own home. In my case I often just sit in a dimly lit room and play some music. There’s sound, yes, but music does soothe the savage beast.

6. Honor your strengths
What are your positive traits? What special talents do you have? List three – if you get stuck, ask those closest to you to help identify these. Are you imaginative, witty, good with your hands? Find ways to express your authentic self through your strengths. You can increase your self-confidence when you can share what you know to others.

7. Serve others
When you live authentically, you may find that you develop an interconnected sense of being. When you are true to who you are, living your purpose and giving of your talents to the world around you, you give back in service what you came to share with others – your spirit – your essence. The rewards for sharing your gift with those close to you is indeed rewarding, much more if it were to be the eyes of a stranger who can appreciate what you have done to them.

Self-improvement is indeed one type of work that is worth it. It shouldn’t always be within the confines of an office building, or maybe in the four corners of your own room. The difference lies within ourselves and how much we want to change for the better.